The quote that I choose was from chapter 3 of The Prince and the Pauper. It is "A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garland with Tom's fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. The two went and stood side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have been any change made!" I thought that this was one of the most important quotes in the book because it sets up everything that is going to happen. In the lines above, the two young boys switch their clothing to see how it feels to be in the other's shoes. Little do they know this is the beginning of a huge case of mistaken identity.
I love how Mark Twain decided to name Tom Canty, The Prince of Pauperdom. I think that this is extremely fitting for Tom because he would daydream about being with the royals and read about them in his everyday life. It also points out the irony of the two children meeting; one of them being the future king and a real prince, while the other one is a pauper.
I also enjoy this quote and find it important because it shows the innocence of children, no matter what their backgrounds are. Twain has the two boys stand "side by side" which is unusual because it makes Tom equal to Edward. If the boys were older and under more pressure to abide by protocol they wouldn't have been able to stand next to each other. This is also seen when the two change clothes with one another. I doubt that many grown Princes swap their clothing for rags with a strang commoner.
I like how Twain uses the word "miracle" for what has just happened. I think that the use of the word is ironic because I don't think during most of the story any of the characters feel like this event was a miracle but more of a curse. It isn't until the very end of the story that we can see the true miracle that has occured for all of the characters.
I totally agree with his use of irony in describing the "miracle" of what happened, when the story proves that if a little boy is dressed like a prince, he is a prince. And the same for pauper. Perhaps Twain meant to demonstrate that any boy could be prince and that people become too involved in birth right, appearance and status to notice that the prince was false? Maybe, too, Twain was commenting that children are ignored when the are telling the truth because adults become so involved with their own built way of thinking? I think it is funny how Twain constantly describes the over-the-top clothes and lifestyle of the royal court.
ReplyDeleteThis line about switching clothes really connects to "The Million Pound Note." In that story, he had no real wealth, only the appearance of it in the form of the million pound note. Likewise, in The Prince and the Pauper, it is only their clothes that distinguish them by creating an appearance of wealth or poverty.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of how Twain discusses the over-the-top clothes and lifestyle as GillMcA put it, does Twain describe things with a different tone depending on which boy is in which situation? I can't remember but maybe someone else noticed. Does Twain only describe royal things as gaudy once Tom is the prince?
"Miracle" is a really good way of putting it... Even when a few of the characters throughout the book begin to suspect that they really aren't who everyone else believes them to be (Tom's mother testing the prince, for example) they write it off as impossible, because how in the world would the two meet? It's a logical conclusion to make, but an incorrect one in this story.
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